TL;DR. Sixty Old Testament quiz questions, sorted by the four traditional sections of the Hebrew canon: the Pentateuch (Genesis–Deuteronomy), Historical books (Joshua–Esther), Wisdom and Poetry (Job–Song of Solomon), and the Prophets (Isaiah–Malachi). Every answer cites a verse. Use the whole set or pick a section for a focused round.
The Old Testament is 39 books and roughly three-quarters of the Bible by word count. Good quizzes treat its sections distinctly — narrative questions for the historical books, character questions for the prophets, theme questions for the wisdom books.
Section 1 — Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy) — 15 questions
In what book do we read about the creation of the world? — **Genesis** (Genesis 1)Who was the brother that Cain killed? — **Abel** (Genesis 4:8)How many sons did Noah have? — **3 — Shem, Ham, and Japheth** (Genesis 5:32)To what mountain did the ark come to rest? — **Mount Ararat** (Genesis 8:4)Who was Abraham's son with Sarah? — **Isaac** (Genesis 21:3)What was the name of Isaac's wife? — **Rebekah** (Genesis 24:67)What did Esau sell to Jacob for a bowl of stew? — **His birthright** (Genesis 25:33)What new name did God give Jacob? — **Israel** (Genesis 32:28)Who sold Joseph into slavery? — **His brothers** (Genesis 37:28)In what country did Joseph rise to power? — **Egypt** (Genesis 41:41)Who was Moses's brother? — **Aaron** (Exodus 4:14)What did God call Moses to do from the burning bush? — **Lead Israel out of Egypt** (Exodus 3:10)On what mountain did Moses receive the law? — **Mount Sinai** (Exodus 19:20)What was the name of the portable worship structure in the wilderness? — **The tabernacle** (Exodus 25–27)What did the Israelites eat in the wilderness? — **Manna and quail** (Exodus 16)Section 2 — Historical books (Joshua through Esther) — 15 questions
Who led Israel into the Promised Land? — **Joshua** (Joshua 1:2)What city's walls fell after Israel marched around them? — **Jericho** (Joshua 6:20)Who was the prostitute who hid the Israelite spies? — **Rahab** (Joshua 2:1–6)Who was the strongest judge of Israel? — **Samson** (Judges 13–16)Who cut off Samson's hair? — **Delilah** (Judges 16:19)Who was the female judge who led Israel into battle? — **Deborah** (Judges 4:4)Who was the great-grandmother of King David, mentioned by name in his lineage? — **Ruth** (Ruth 4:13–22)Who anointed Saul as king? — **Samuel** (1 Samuel 10:1)Who was David's best friend? — **Jonathan** (1 Samuel 18:1–3)Who succeeded David as king? — **Solomon** (1 Kings 1:39)Who built the first temple in Jerusalem? — **Solomon** (1 Kings 6)Which king tore the united kingdom in two through foolish counsel? — **Rehoboam** (1 Kings 12)Which prophet confronted Ahab and Jezebel? — **Elijah** (1 Kings 18)Who led the rebuilding of the Jerusalem walls after exile? — **Nehemiah** (Nehemiah 2:17)Who was the Jewish queen of Persia? — **Esther** (Esther 2:17)Section 3 — Wisdom and Poetry (Job through Song of Solomon) — 15 questions
Who lost his children, wealth, and health and never cursed God? — **Job** (Job 1–2)How many friends came to "comfort" Job? — **3 — Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar** (Job 2:11); later a fourth, **Elihu** (Job 32)Who wrote most of the Psalms? — **David** (traditional attribution to David, with others)Which Psalm begins "The Lord is my shepherd"? — **Psalm 23**Which Psalm is the longest chapter in the Bible? — **Psalm 119**Which book was largely written by Solomon and contains practical wisdom? — **Proverbs** (Proverbs 1:1)Which Old Testament book begins, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity"? — **Ecclesiastes** (Ecclesiastes 1:2)Who is the traditional author of Ecclesiastes? — **Solomon** ("the Preacher / Qoheleth")Which book describes the love between a bride and her beloved? — **Song of Solomon** (also called Song of Songs)In Proverbs 31, what is the woman of noble character's worth said to be greater than? — **Rubies / jewels** (Proverbs 31:10)According to Proverbs, what is the beginning of wisdom? — **The fear of the Lord** (Proverbs 9:10)Which Psalm is a confession after David's sin with Bathsheba? — **Psalm 51**How many chapters are in the book of Psalms? — **150**What does the word "Selah" likely mean in the Psalms? — **A musical interlude or pause for reflection**Which Psalm begins with "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked"? — **Psalm 1**Section 4 — Prophets (Isaiah through Malachi) — 15 questions
Which prophet saw a vision of the Lord, high and lifted up, in the temple? — **Isaiah** (Isaiah 6:1)Which prophet was called by God before he was born? — **Jeremiah** (Jeremiah 1:5)Which prophet is known as "the weeping prophet"? — **Jeremiah**Who wrote Lamentations? — **Jeremiah** (traditional attribution)Which prophet had a vision of dry bones coming to life? — **Ezekiel** (Ezekiel 37)Which prophet was thrown into a lions' den? — **Daniel** (Daniel 6)Who interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the great statue? — **Daniel** (Daniel 2)Which prophet ran from God's call to Nineveh? — **Jonah** (Jonah 1)Which prophet's wife was unfaithful, as a symbol of Israel's unfaithfulness? — **Hosea** (Hosea 1:2)Which short prophet's book is about the destruction of Edom? — **Obadiah**Which prophet saw locust plagues as a sign of the day of the Lord? — **Joel** (Joel 1–2)Which prophet was called from being a shepherd in Tekoa? — **Amos** (Amos 1:1)Which prophet predicted Bethlehem as the birthplace of the Messiah? — **Micah** (Micah 5:2)Who is the last prophet of the Old Testament? — **Malachi**How many "Minor Prophets" are there? — **12** (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi)Using these questions
A few suggestions:
For **competitive rounds**, mix sections — pick three from each to keep things balanced.For **teaching**, work through a section over weeks — Pentateuch one month, Historical books the next.For **family game night**, give every wrong answer a chance to explain *why* they thought their answer was right. Sometimes the wrong answer surfaces a more interesting misconception than the right one.To generate a custom Old Testament quiz from a specific chapter or theme, paste your text into the Bible Quiz Generator. You can specify section, difficulty, and Bible translation.
[100+ Bible Quiz Questions With Answers](/blog/bible-quiz-questions-with-answers)[New Testament Quiz Questions](/blog/new-testament-quiz-questions)[Youth Group Bible Quiz Ideas](/blog/youth-group-bible-quiz-ideas)[How to Write Good Quiz Questions](/blog/how-to-write-good-quiz-questions)Build a Bible quiz from any passage →
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